Kansas City Chiefs WR Xavier Worthy follows in the footsteps of fellow WR Rashee Rice as the 2024 Mack Lee Hill Award winner
It's that time of the year again, Kansas City Chiefs fans. The team has announced its annual Mack Lee Hill Rookie of the Year Award, which honors a rookie or first-year player. The award is named after former Chiefs RB Mack Lee Hill, a standout rookie fullback in 1964 who tragically died from an embolism […]
It's that time of the year again, Kansas City Chiefs fans.
The team has announced its annual Mack Lee Hill Rookie of the Year Award, which honors a rookie or first-year player. The award is named after former Chiefs RB Mack Lee Hill, a standout rookie fullback in 1964 who tragically died from an embolism during knee surgery in 1965. The players in the locker room vote on the award each year following the season's conclusion.
Last season, wide receiver Rashee Rice took home the award after a dominant rookie season and postseason. Unsurprisingly, this year's Mack Lee Hill Award stays on the offensive side of the ball with another rookie wide receiver: Xavier Worthy.
After a bit of a slow start, Worthy really caught some momentum around Week 11 of the 2024 NFL season against the Buffalo Bills. Worthy finished the year with 59 receptions on 98 targets for 638 yards and six touchdowns. He also had 20 carries for 103 yards and three touchdowns. He joined Tyreek Hill, Gale Sayers, and Doak Walker as the only rookies in NFL history to finish their inaugural NFL season with six receiving and three rushing touchdowns.
He really caught his stride in the postseason, culminating in a record-setting performance in Super Bowl LIX that was overshadowed by the painstaking loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. His 157 receiving yards in the loss broke the Super Bowl record for most receiving yards by a rookie receiver, a record previously held by Seattle Seahawks WR Chris Matthews and St. Louis Ram WR Torry Holt.
The 2024 NFL season didn't end as anyone wanted, but Worthy showed that it was just the tip of the iceberg for him. The Chiefs will have two former Mack Lee Hill Award winners as the focal points of Andy Reid's offense in 2025, with Rashee Rice also set to return from a knee injury that ended his 2024 NFL season prematurely. It's not too bad for second-year wide receiver coach Connor Embree, producing two Mack Lee Hill Rookie of the Year winners in as many years.
